I grew up 3 hours outside of Pittsburgh,我在距離彼得堡3小時車程的地方長大
with my mother and 3 younger siblings .與我母親，還有三個弟妹同住
My mom was a single mother我母親是一個單親媽媽
and worked a minimum wage job,干活只能掙到極少的錢
so we never had much,我們的生活一直捉襟見肘
but that was OK,可是沒有關(guān)系
we made ends meet anyhow.無論如何我們總算撐起了這個家
Freshman year of High School進(jìn)入高中的第一年
I got a job at a local bakery我在當(dāng)?shù)氐囊患液媾嗟觊_始打工
and immediately started saving money for college.并且馬上開始為我的大學(xué)學(xué)費攢錢
I was accepted into the University of Pittsburgh后來我收到了圣彼得堡大學(xué)的錄取通知書
and received some academic scholarships that covered my tuition.還收到了一筆獎學(xué)金，足夠支付我的學(xué)費
Room and board were not covered但是住宿和交通費還是沒有著落
so I opted to pay for the meal plan but not the housing于是我決定把自己的錢花在吃飯上，但不能花在住宿上
because it was way too expensive for me.因為對于我還說，那太貴了
Whenever it was time to head out for college當(dāng)我準(zhǔn)備動身去學(xué)校的時候
I scrapped all of the back row seating in my caravan(the old caravan seats were removable)我把家里的旅行拖車后排座椅的位置仔細(xì)摩擦光滑（原來的座椅都已經(jīng)被搬走了）
and I purchased a twin mattress還買了一張雙人床墊
and laid it on the floor of my van,鋪在車廂底上
I also saved enough money to have my windows tinted.我還攢錢把車窗噴上了新的顏色
I purchased a parking pass on campus,我出錢獲得了學(xué)校里的停車許可
chose a spot on the top level of the parking garage地方選定在停車車庫的第一層
and lived out of my van for the next 2 years.就在車子外面住了兩年的時間
Like I said, this was the best thing to ever happen to me,就像我說夠的，這是我人生中最大的幸事
The weather in Pittsburgh was bad.彼得堡的天氣很糟糕
Super hot and humid in the summer time夏天酷熱又潮濕
and freezing cold and snowy in the winter time.冬季嚴(yán)寒，雪花飄飄
That being said,既是如此
being homeless forced me to take advantage of everything the campus had to offer我頭上又沒有半片瓦遮陰，我只能利用學(xué)校里提供的一切資源
since I wanted to spend as little time in my van as possible.因為我希望自己呆在車?yán)锏臅r間越少越好
I ended up spending most of my time throughout the week at the library結(jié)果，我一周中的大部分時間都是呆在圖書館
and consequentially ended up studying and reviewing classroom material a lot more than I would have最后，我學(xué)習(xí)和復(fù)習(xí)課堂所學(xué)的時間如此的長
if I had the luxury of going home and turning on the TV or falling asleep for hours in my room.如果我能夠奢望回到家里，打開電視，或者連續(xù)幾個小時在房間里睡覺，我學(xué)習(xí)的時間一定會短得多
I frequented my professors office hours. 我去給教授幫忙的時間也越來越多
I ended up getting really close to some of my professors最后我與許多教授建立了親密的師徒關(guān)系
because of this,正因為此
and it really helped me excel in the classroom.我才能在全班同學(xué)中名列前茅
I attended a lot of social events,我參加了許多社會活動
guest speakers, plays, charities, student life events around campus too還參加了許多客座演講，戲劇表演，慈善活動，還有校園里的各種學(xué)生活動
and this was really good for me這也對我十分有益
because I ended up meeting a lot of new friends by attending all these things.因為參加這些活動的過程中，我結(jié)交了許多的新朋友
Prior to college I would have considered myself and introvert ,上大學(xué)之前，我一直認(rèn)為自己性格內(nèi)向
I didn’t really speak much unless spoken to,不喜言談，除非別人向開口找我說話
but again not wanting to sit around in my van all day made me venture outside of my comfort zone可是，還是由于我不想整天坐在自己的拖車旁邊度日，我決定到自己的舒適區(qū)外面去探險
and do new things去做沒做過的事情
and I really developed an outgoing personality because of it.這樣以來，我漸漸養(yǎng)成了十分開朗的性格
Even after I moved out of the van即使是在我已經(jīng)搬出拖車之后
I continued to spend hours at the library,我還是會花時間逛圖書館
working out everyday,每天鍛煉
attending events,etc參加各種活動
and I really think that having to deal with the struggles that I had to go through really made me into a better person.我著實認(rèn)為，經(jīng)歷那些我不得不經(jīng)歷的折磨，讓我成為了一個更好的人
Since then I got a really got job后來我得到了一份很好的工作
and have been helping my siblings prepare for life我還一直幫助弟弟妹妹們?yōu)樗麄兊娜松鰷?zhǔn)備
and I’ve even been able to help my mother out a little bit.我也能力所能及的幫助母親了
It just feels good :)這感覺真好！
